"I knew this company was going to be successful when we did our first show," actor Michael O'Connell says about Third Rail Repertory Theatre. Oddly enough, he's not talking about "Recent Tragic Events," the play that put the group on Portland's arts map in February 2005.

"The very first production was a fundraiser we did at the Fez Ballroom," he recalls, chatting over breakfast at the Bijou with a few fellow company founders. "We took 'The Breakfast Club' and pared it down to a 15-minute play and had an '80s prom theme party."